According to East Anglian & Low
Countries chronicles, the period covering (roughly) April to August was very
dry across these regions. This would imply a persistence of anticyclonic
weather.

x

1601/1602
(Winter & early Spring)

Possibly a severe winter in Scotland,
lasting from November to the end of April. Frequent heavy snowfall.
[ If the winter was severe enough for comment in Scotland,
then no doubt it was equally so across northern England & perhaps further
south, but I have no data as to that. It is also interesting to speculate that
given the anticyclonicity implied by the entry for late spring/all summer
(above), and the requirement for at least some element of high pressure to the
north or northeast of Britain for a notably cold winter, then this may be an
exceptional spell of anticyclonically, blocked conditions for these longitudes.
]

Flood: 2,000 died around the Severn
Estuary, Tuesday, 20 January 1606 (OS)/30th January 1607 (NS). Lowlands on both
sides of the Estuary suffered inundation, with the Somerset & Gwent levels
suffering devastating effects. It is thought that a Severe gale from the west
or southwest was responsible, coupled to an astronomically high tide: the
excess over prediction was some 2.3m. As well as the cost in human life, much
damage / loss of housing etc., and also cattle, sheep & horses perished.
There would have been a great deal of salt-contamination of arable fields too.
Bristol & Barnstaple were badly affected.It is worth noting that great damage due to flooding was also
recorded from East Anglian towns and villages, particularly across the Fens.
('Weather'/Oct 2006/Horsburgh & Horritt); H. Lamb hasn't included this
event in his 'Historic Storms' (Ref: HS), yet it seems as if this may have
affected at least the southern North Sea.[ There is some debate whether this event was a 'standard'
wind-driven storm-surge, or a Tsunami-like occurrence. Contemporary accounts
mention 'high tides' & 'strong west winds', so I would plump for the more
likely storm-surge cause.] [confusion with dates: although listed in original
documents as January 1606, the 'year' 1606 would have run from March 1606 to
March 1607 (in our reckoning).]

TORRO,
R. Met.S,
17CWx

1607

Dry/hot summer
(London/South).

8

1607/08
(Winter)

The 'Great Winter'**:
apparently, trees died due to the severity (and length) of the frost; ships
were stranded by ice several miles out into the North Sea - this latter a major
concern as much commerce was done in these days via coastal shipping. In
December, a "deep" frost until mid-month, then a thaw until just
before Christmas, then from ~21st December(OSP) intense freeze for much of the
time until at least mid-January. Ice formed on the Thames in London, sufficient
to bear all sorts of sports, perambulations and even cooking! The frost lasted
overall for some two months. (much of the foregoing from Ian Currie). The
severe weather lasted in parts of England until about 20th February(OSP),
though with variations in depth of cold. For example, in records from Kendal
(Westmorland / Cumbria) 'hard frost' is noted from November 3rd, 1607 to March
6th, 1608(OSP).
The Firth of Forth is noted as being 'frozen' during January 1608 & the
River Exe (south of Exeter) also experienced major ice formation by the
latter-third of January - at this latter location, damage was caused to a local
weir.(** lots of winters will be found in the literature known as
"The Great Winter": treat this title with some caution, however, in a
series developed by C.Easton, in CHMW / Lamb, this ranks near the top of the
most severe winters of the last 1000 yr.)[ This may have been the first occasion of the use of the term
'Frost Fair' ]

1, 6, 8, usw

1609/10
(Winter)

Great frost commenced in October &
lasted four months. Thames frozen and heavy carriages driven over it. (Possible
confusion with 1607/08).

8,
LWH

1610

Hot, dry summer (London/South); from
other records I have, there is mention of 'four months' of drought at Derby, so
as might be expected, these hot, dry conditions extended across a greater part
of southern & central England at least - more than that it would be wrong
to assume.

8

1610: (September)

On Michaelmas Day [29th September / OS]
"blizzards" raged throughout Derbyshire. Snowstorms were
'unparalleled' in recent history.

17CWx

1611
(Annual)

From various reports across England, overall it
was probably a wet year: floods were noted in January and February, especially
in the West of England (e.g. Avon river system & specifically noted in
Tewkesbury [Gloucestershire]). July & August were also noted as being wet
with flooding, though this may have been as the result of intense convective
downpours / thunderstorm activity, rather than broad-scale synoptic activity:
the hay harvest was severely affected in places. By November and December, more
widespread flooding was being reported which suggests a return to generalised
cyclonic activity.
However, note that in contrast with the above, there are several notes of a
notable drought (probably an agricultural / meteorological drought, rather than
a hydrological drought) affecting large areas of England from the end of
February to May - which was then followed by " great rains " from
early June. It should be noted that Lamb assesses that the 1610s were
generally years of low rainfall, so 1611 may be an oddity for this
decade.

17CWx,
6

1611/1612
(Winter)

Possibly a severe winter, at least for
southern & central England.[ It is interesting to speculate, given the entry below,
that once again some long-lived anticyclonic activity was involved - see for
example, 1601/02 above. ]

17CWx

1612
(winter / spring)

Drought from January to May
(London/South). The extended period of dry weather was apparently widespread
over England at least, with that affecting the Lake District noted as not
breaking until early August.

8,
17CWx

1612
(Summer)

Overlapping with the entry above (q.v.),
it was apparently a hot, dry summer over England at least.

17CWx

1614
(Spring & Summer)

Drought at York lasting from spring to
August - severe shortage of fodder and grain. [ Obviously, this would have affected a much wider area -
this is just the record from the ecclesiastical centre for the North Country.
]

x

1614/1615
(winter/early spring)

Several reports of 'great snowfall' from
various parts of the country; for example, from Derbyshire, a major snowfall
began on the 20th January(OSP) and further new snowfall was noted until at
least 12th March(OSP); great snowfall was also recorded across Yorkshire.
Further north, in Scotland, this winter was noted as being of 'great severity'
(Annals of Scottish History), & by February, the Tay was frozen over, such
that foot and horse traffic could pass over it. An 'enormous' fall of snow took
place early in March (place unspecified), but this ties in with the Derbyshire
report [above]. In Scotland, this was stated to have lasted at least three
days, to be the greatest 'within living memory' and many deaths (horses and
men) occurred as people tried to move about. It was particularly bad across
northern Scotland.

(LWH & others)

1615
(spring)

Following the heavy snowfall as noted
above, significant flooding ensued following thaw (& presumably heavy rain
- you tend to need a high-yield rainfall event for significant flooding after
snow), with Yorkshire being particularly badly hit. The Ouse flood lasted
around 10 days, carrying away bridges - the dates are not given, but as April
was noted as being fair/dry with a dusty ground and significant drought (until
late summer), then the melt-event probably followed the final snowfall in the
second week of March.

x

1615
(May)

1st (C? / OSP & probably 'May Day' -
it might not have attracted notice otherwise!) A late snowfall; Snow to 1 foot
(~30cm) depth reported from Derbyshire.[ The problem here is that there are parts of Derbyshire today
that would get a useful snowfall on May 1st - particularly in the Peak District
villages, so it is difficult to know how significant this report is.
]

LWH

1615
(late Spring to mid-summer)

Extended dry conditions / notable drought
across central & southern Britain - great stress due to lack of fodder,
harvest etc; In Derbyshire (and almost certainly across a much wider area of
Britain), noted as running from 25th March (Lady Day) to 4th August (both OSP).
Great dearth of corn & hay.

River Aire flooded houses in Leeds
(Yorkshire) after 38 hours of rain.

x

1617
(Summer)

From reports of shipwrecks, wet weather
& floods, it appears that the summer of 1617 was notably unsettled.

17CWx

1620
(Summer)

Possibly a very wet summer.

17CWx

1620/21
(Winter)

Frost fair held on the Thames. A severe
winter over western Europe / implied much of Britain. (Easton, in CHMW/Lamb)

1, 8

1621
(Summer
& Autumn)

Noted as being 'very dry' in eastern
Scotland, but 'very cold & wet' further south. However, through the autumn,
particularly around 'harvest-tide', all contemporary records note a lot of
rain, with a poor crop for the winter. It would not be unusual for eastern
Scotland to have a distinctly different rainfall regime from elsewhere, so on
balance I suspect that the rainfall was the dominant weather type for a lot of
Britain in this period.

17CWx

1622
(August &
Summer)

Although mixed data, it looks as if the late
spring & much of the summer across Britain, but especially across Scotland
& the north of England, was 'inclement', such that the harvest was poor: in
Scotland in particular, the harvest was stated to be 'catastrophic'. Reports
suggest that the poor weather was primarily due to excessive rainfall (see also
the previous summer above). [ Reports from the winter, spring
& early summer of 1622/1623 state that there was great distress in the
population of Scotland, with death-rates much higher than normal; this was
stated to be due to the famine prevalent following the poor harvest noted
above, and presumably the fact that this was (at least) the second very poor
year in a row had a lot to do with the lack of produce etc. ]
August 18th(C?) - An "extreme & vehement" storm struck the
Tamar Valley. (Devon Co. C web site)[ No other details, i.e. thunderstorm, wind-storm etc., so it
is difficult to decide the character of this: it may be akin to the Boscastle
storm of 2004 August q.v., given the topography of the areas which drain into
the Tamar valley. ]

17CWx

1623
(Summer
.. 1)

At Oxford & other places in the south
of England (e.g. Bath, Bristol), the summer was noted as hot & dry. (But
see entry below - split island!)

17CWx

1623
(Summer
.. 2)

Another poor summer [ see 1622 ] in
Scotland. Often noted as being STORMY & WET, with failure of harvests etc.
(but see entry above; if this is correct, it would imply a succession of poor
summers for Scotland since at least 1620).

Possibly a wet winter, at least across
England, and specifically London. [ Difficulty with dating - might be the previous winter
depending upon how you interpret the convention. ]

17CWx

1625
(Summer)

Possibly a wet summer, at least over
England & Scotland; in Scotland, it was noted that the 'rains' had been
heavy/persistent since the middle of May.

17CWx

1625
(October)

October 13th(?C / OSP) - At Tiverton, 53
houses were thrown down and destroyed by a great flood of water.(Devon Co.C
website)[ Again, no great detail, but given the month, it suggests an
exceptional rain-storm following a prolonged period of autumnal rains soaking
the ground. ]

x

1626

Dry, hot summer
(London/South).

8

1627
(Late Spring
& Summer)

Possibly a wet late spring & summer -
at least in Scotland.

17CWx

1629
(Spring/
Summer)

Possibly a wet period, sufficient to
cause much shortage of foodstuffs produced from the land.

17CWx

1630-1637
(or 1638) (Summers)

Series of dry / warm summers,
particularly 1636, 1637 & (perhaps) 1638; for 1636, in the London/SE area,
it is noted as a "very hot & dry summer, not a drop of rain from March
to August".

8

1632
(Autumn &
early Winter)

Possibly a notably wet period, ending
with a frost.

17CWx

1633
(early in year)

A 'great storm' in the Scottish border
region, when vast numbers of sheep perished; severe frost.

SBM

1633
(Autumn &
early Winter)

Another wet period. There are notes that
this year saw a major failure of the harvest in places - so perhaps 1632 &
1633 stand out from the generally benign/excellent spell noted against the
entry for 1630-1637 summers [above].

17CWx

1633/1634
(Winter)

Possibly one of the stormiest (&
coldest) in Scotland, with snow in the fields lying from December to
March.

17CWx

1634
(Spring)

A cold, dry spring, no doubt due to
persistently anticyclonic conditions with a bias to E/NE winds: during April
& May no rain for seven weeks. [ But note that areas so
affected not clearly specified.]

17CWx

1634
(Summer /
early Autumn)

The summer was reported to be 'fine' and
early autumn / harvest-tide also proved benign; it appears that these 'fine'
conditions were confined to the southern parts of Britain (see below).

17CWx

1634
(Autumn /
early Winter)

In contrast to entries above [ which in
any case relate only to 'southern' Britain ], the remainder of autumn &
early winter was wet. Also, it appears that the far north of Scotland, along
with Orkney & Shetland, were plagued by persistently stormy conditions,
often wet, such that great distress was caused due to famine. The harvest on
Orkney in particular was described as a 'disaster'.

17CWx

1634/1635
(Winter)

Severe winter; Thames frozen. Depending
upon dating practice, there are other reports from the time that suggest that
this winter (1634 / 1635) was widely cold/snowy. In parts of England, a frost
lasted from the 15th December 1634(OSP) until 11th February 1635(OSP), with
frequent snowfall. In Scotland, a lot of snow and great depth of frost noted,
with the snow lying in places from the 9th December(OSP) to the 9th March(OSP).
Particularly snowy (and probably with significant blizzard conditions at times)
between 26th January(OSP) & the 16th February(OSP) at Perth. The river Tay
was frozen over. Significant hardship.

8
17CWx

1635
(mid/late
autumn)

A mild but wet autumn with heavy rains
and several reports of flooding. (Location/s not known)

17CWx

Mar-Sep 1636

Extended dry / drought period began 1st
March 1636: by September, serious drought effects. Noted as completely
rain-less in 'London Weather' from March to August. [ see also entry below
which overlaps.]

6, 8

1636
(Annual)

Possibly a warm year overall, with a
'forward spring' & 'very hot' summer; there are also references to it being
'extremely dry' [probably only applies to southern & central England
though]. Specifically, a drought was noted as having lasted from 1st March to
well into September, with sources noting 'completely rainless' conditions.
Trees by August were as if it were mid-winter, given the loss of
leaves.

Tornadoes in Devon & Somerset: Sunday
October 21st(OS) / October 31st(NS): at Widecombe-in-the-Moor (Devon) on the
south-eastern flank of Dartmoor. A tornado struck a church with the 'utmost
violence' as a service had just begun. A ball of fire moved through the church
with a thunderous explosion. The roof and tower were wrecked, stone and masonry
showered down both inside and outside the building. The tornado / ball
lightning killed and maimed scores of men and women - and a dog. People were
snatched from the pews and whirled about. About 60 people were either killed or
injured. All this took place within a few seconds. There may also have been
(associated?) tornadic events at Plymouth & Norton Fitzwarren (Somerset),
which might imply a line-squall/cold frontal event.

6,
LWH,
17CWx

1639
(December)

Possibly a very stormy month, with
particular mention for London/South.

17CWx

1640
(Annual)

From several reports throughout the year
from widely dispersed parts of Britain, it seems as if this year was WET with
frequent flooding. At Tewkesbury (Gloucestershire) for example, where flooding
is not unknown even today, there were at least eight floods between Midsummer
(24th June) and Michaelmas (29th September). August is specifically mentioned
as having heavy rain in the NE England/SE Scotland area. Similarly, October was
so plagued across Yorkshire & the NE of England. [ It may also have been cold/snowy at the start as well, but
there is the usual ambiguity about whether the reports belong to this year or
to 1641.]

17CWx

1641
(Summer)

Ducklington (Oxfordshire) 'harvest
weather' was hot & dry from June until 17th September. No water in springs
and grass withered. [ sounds like a significant drought.]

17CWx

1642
(Annual)

No specifics, but for Scotland at least,
this was noted at the time as having been a 'wonderful' year for the fruits of
the land; there are, however, reports of extended dry periods, especially in
June, though this was offset around mid-month by short-period rainfall.

17CWx

1642/1643
(Winter
& Spring)

Possibly a wet, stormy winter &
spring, at least for Scotland and with regard to the spring, for England
too.

17CWx

1643

Hot summer (London / South). Some
suggestion that the fine / dry weather extended to Scotland (Edinburgh) as well
- which would be logical.

8,
17CWx

1643/1644
(Winter)

Contemporary reports of this being a cold
winter - presumably colder than 'normal' if such remarks are made. January in
particular is noted in several accounts as being cold/snowy and in January
1644: 8-day snowfall 31st January to 7th February(OSP).

6,
17CWx

1645

Hot / dry summer
(London/South).

8

1645-1710

"The Maunder Minimum":
Period of notably reduced solar activity. Possibly contributing to (or adding
to), the downturn in temperatures during this period (though note, there were
also some very warm summers, e.g. 1645!)

x

1646
(May)

31st May, 1646 (new-style converted):
Notable outbreak of tornadoes in eastern England. Specifically Thetford /
Newmarket, (Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Norfolk); Brandon Parva (Norfolk) and
Swaffham Prior (Cambridgeshire). At least three different tornadoes involved.
It was a notably hot day ("violent hot day"), with severe
thunderstorms, heavy rain & large hail. The hail is noted as being of
"extraordinary size", and "some hollow within like
rings".

(JMet/TORRO)

1646
(October &
November)

From several reports during these two
months (e.g., heavy, persistent rain in Essex in October, major flooding in
Norwich in November & parliamentary reports of rain/floods in early
December), this autumn may have been excessively wet.

17CWx

1648
(Annual)

Very wet, but probably not as wet as 1258
& 1527. The summer in particular was described as worse than several of the
past winters (i.e. 'cold & wet').

8,
17CWx

1648/49
(Winter)

Great frost; Thames frozen.

8

1649
(Annual)

Apparently a famine this year in the
north of England & Scotland because of the impact of rains (and war).
Generally a 'poor' year with the weather impacting upon agriculture: cold/dry
spring after severe winter (see above) & periods of heavy rain.